If you haven’t been on an online dating site for long then you may have made the rookie mistake of using the wrong photo for your profile. The problem with the perception that all images are good is that you miss out on a bunch of good opportunities based on having a suspect profile photo.

When people flip through the many images of men and women on an online dating site, the first thing they look for is how attractive you are and then they begin to probe for red flags. The most common of these red flags are:

People using someone else’s photo to fool the world

People who aren’t who they say they are in the text

Potentially toxic, crazy person who may end up chopping you up in the back of a car

The last thing you would want to do is allude to being any of the above. The best type of photo to present on an online profile is a standard snapshot of yourself in your everyday gear and surroundings. It brings about an air of normalcy and makes you seem like a real person who is approachable.

Be careful of sending mixed signals by presenting a picture of you as a thug with your pants sagging and in the streets whilst claiming in your profile to be a partner at a law firm making over a 6-figure income.

When you make a profile on a dating site you need to embrace what it is that you are selling and focus on that to sell it.

Women tend to get hundreds of responses from guys on those sites (even men out of the country with no way of getting to them) so you have to make your profile an instant draw whenever they navigate to you. This cannot be helped gentlemen, in online dating it’s a buyer’s market and the women are the ones buying.

If you are a professional and want to put yourself across as a professional then use a photo of yourself at work doing whatever it is that you do. Make sure you look strong and commanding in the picture so that it complements your profile stating that you are all about that money.

If you are a rock climbing, mud running, great outdoors type then snap a good clear pic of yourself on the path where your entire body and face is clear for the ladies who may be checking you out.

See, the more generic and straight to the point you are with your profile picture, the easier it is to get someone to wink, poke, or shoot you an email to see what you’re all about.

Absolutely avoid: Group photos, photos that crop someone out on the side (we instantly assume it’s a former lover), photos from many years in the past, and photos where you can barely be seen in them)

It’s all about being as transparent in the looks department as you are in the “about me” section. Good luck out there and remember it’s a buyer’s market so sell, sell, sell!

About Greg Dragon

Greg Dragon is the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief here at the Hall of The Black Dragon Magazine. You can follow Greg on Twitter @HobDragon or on his Google+ account. Greg Dragon is an independent author that writes a variety of novels. You can view his author page on GregDragon.com.